1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reduction-resistant dielectric composition and a ceramic electronic component including the same, and more particularly, to a reduction-resistant dielectric composition which may have a high capacitance and superior reliability, and a ceramic electronic component including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an electronic component using a ceramic material such as a capacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectric device, a varistor, a thermistor, or the like may include ceramic body made of the ceramic material, an internal electrode formed inside the ceramic body, and an external electrode formed on an outer surface of the ceramic body and connected to the internal electrode.
Among the ceramic electronic components, a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) may include a plurality of laminated dielectric layers, internal electrodes arranged to face each other through a single dielectric layer, and an external electrode electrically connected to the internal electrodes.
The multi-layer ceramic capacitor has been widely used as a component of mobile communications device such as a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, and the like, due to advantages such as miniaturization, high capacitance, and the ability to be readily mounted.
The multi-layer ceramic capacitor may generally be fabricated such that a conductive paste for the internal electrode and a dielectric paste are laminated in a sheet scheme or a printing scheme, and are simultaneously subjected to firing.
However, when being subjected to firing under a reducing atmosphere, a dielectric material used for a conventional multi-layer ceramic capacitor may be reduced to be changed into a semiconductor. Because of this, as a material of the internal electrode, a precious metal may be used, such as palladium (Pd), which is not melted at a temperature at which the dielectric material is sintered, and is not oxidized, even when being subjected to the firing under a high oxygen partial pressure so that the dielectric material is not changed into a semiconductor.
However, since a precious metal such as palladium (Pd) is expensive, it may be difficult to fabricate the multi-layer ceramic capacitor with low costs. Accordingly, as the material of the internal electrode, a relatively cheap base metal, such as nickel (Ni), a nickel (Ni) alloy, or the like, has widely been used. However, in a case of using a base metal as a conductive material of an internal electrode layer, the internal electrode layer may be oxidized when being subjected to the firing in the high oxygen partial pressure atmosphere. Accordingly, the dielectric layer and the internal electrode layer may be required to be simultaneously subjected to the firing in the reducing atmosphere.
However, when being subjected to the firing in the reducing atmosphere, the dielectric layer may be reduced, causing a reduction in insulation resistance (IR). Therefore, there is a need for a dielectric material having various compositions, which may be reduction-resistant, and may maintain a high capacitance and insulation properties.